


Choo-Choo

by KariKremes



Category: WordGirl (Cartoon)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28447494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KariKremes/pseuds/KariKremes
Summary: Taking place a few years back, Tobey tries his best to enjoy Christmas Eve with his robot as he awaits for a certain someone to come around for the holidays. Includes an OC of mine. NOTE: This story is crossposted on FanFiction as well.
Kudos: 11





	1. Tinkering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyooo! This is my first fanfic ever so keep in mind that mistakes are bound to happen. I'm lowkey extremely nervous posting this but I really do wanna put this story out into the world. Also I do not own WordGirl, just my lil robot OC.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Ah, would you look at that?” the Narrator announced. “Another beautiful day in our Fair Ci—”

“Oh, what’s this?” The voice paused as he looked at the new script that he was handed. “Oh, this one takes place in...Freeport City huh? And we’re looking at _him_?”

He gave a gentle smile. “Aww, I can’t wait to see the little boy again!”

He clears his throat as he starts again. “Ahem. It’s Christmas time yay! Children are having fun in the snow, carolers are singing warm songs, and everyone is getting into the festive spirit!”

The camera zooms over Freeport City, where the buildings were decorated with glittering lights of red and green. Further below, streets are dashed in heavy streamers and velvet bows, with even the flowerpots adorned with golden ribbons. At the corner of a street intersection, a group of children gather around as they try to lift a humongous snowball to the top of the almost completed snowman. When the children finally place it down, they squeal in excitement as they rush to their parents, asking if they have anything to decorate their new friend.

Across the street, a long line files outside of a quaint cafe. The majority of the crowd shivers as a frigid gust of wind hits them in the face. A couple walks out of the cafe as they both take a long sip out of their hot chocolate. Some people outside started singing some Christmas tunes, hoping to lighten the mood. A few others muttered under their breath, wishing that this line moved along quickly. 

“Wait a minute” The Narrator takes another glimpse at his script. “Oh wait, this story takes place in a much more remote area. My bad!”

Further away from the buzzing town, where the snow seemed to fall twice as heavy, a tiny log cabin can be seen hidden away from the prying eyes of the public. If not for the chocolate wooden structure, one would have thought that there was just a vast expanse of white all around. 

The cabin looked fairly simple, just a wooden base with a mint colored rooftop. And it seemed to feel that way for showing festive cheer as well. Unlike the majority of the cabins in Freeport, which had Christmas lights hung around the house or blown up holiday balloons sitting upfront, this cabin only had a wreath nailed to the front of the door. Some smoke can be seen puffing out from the chimney, which was the only sign that there was life within these walls. 

Inside the wooden house, however, the interior seemed to show a much more festive attitude. All around the house, warm lights are hung on the walls, emitting a soft glow. The windows were trimmed with garlands of red berries, leaves, and pinecones. 

Within the living room, the festive cheer was certainly there to be seen. A huge pine tree stood next to the doorway. Colored lights and shiny spheres wrapped around the tree, with a few branches hanging heavy from some handmade metal ornaments. The table in the center held a singular white candle, spreading the smell of warm vanilla all around. Across the room, a fireplace had begun roaring. Above it, three red stockings were nailed to the top, one of them being a bit smaller than the rest. 

The Narrator once again clears his throat as he attempts to introduce the story properly. “Umm anywho, on the outskirts of town, a certain little genius is about to have quite an unforgettable holiday…”

At the large window that stood near the tree, a young boy sits at the ledge of it, completely ignoring the snowfall that had just begun outside. A messy ring of gears and metal scrap laid around him, but he didn’t seem to give a care. Next to him, a little robot no bigger than his head laid flat on its back, an arm missing.

The boy furrowed his brows as he glared at the piece of metal in his hand. He had already screwed the tiny gears back into place. All that was left was the final bolt that would secure the wire cover.

He adjusted his glasses and reached into his overall pockets, rummaging around until he finally pulled out a tiny screwdriver. Placing the bolt over the hole, he carefully screwed it back into its place, making sure he didn’t strip the thread away. Once he couldn’t twist it anymore, he reached for the bot and locked the arm back into its shoulder. A loud click can be heard, and at hearing this the boy eagerly flipped the switch located on the back of his metal pal. 

The robot’s eyes turn red, and as the gears start churning he looks up at his creator. He stares at him for a few seconds, then turns to look at his newly replaced arm. He then jumps up and down in joy as he stretches his new attachment, happy that he won’t have to have to rely on one arm anymore. 

The boy’s face lights up and he claps his hands in glee. “Hooray! Now we’ll get to go on more adventures!” 

The robot stops his prancing and looks back at the boy. He tilts his head as if questioning the boy’s choice of words.

Realizing what he just said, he quickly corrects himself. “Oh! Um, I mean adventures that won’t involve us having a snowball fight and me accidentally hitting you into the lake” He looks away sheepishly, still ashamed that his mother had to go rescue his friend after he ran back to her crying about it. 

The robot tilts his head back and gives him a thumbs-up, showing that he is okay now. 

“Phew. I don’t know what I’d do if you were gone! It was starting to get a bit lonely here you know”

The robot plopped down on the ground, waiting to hear all about the boy’s day. 

“You know, it did take a while for me to fix your arm. Mother said that you were too cold when we brought you back, so she suggested placing you near the fireplace so that you could warm up. But when she put you down, your arm had broken off”

The robot covers his mouth, clearly shocked about this.

“Oh, but don’t worry Mate! We didn’t lose your arm or any nonsense like that. It just took a wee bit longer for the ice to melt. I replaced your power pack with a new one, and you seemed to be working perfectly fine! Just with one arm”

“However, I was too scared to put it back just yet. So I opened up your arm and replaced the wires and gears just to be sure”

Mate wiped his arm on his head, relieved. He then took a look at his arm again to see if he could find any scratches.

“Of course,” the boy bragged, “you should expect nothing less from the great Tobey McCallister III!” He straightens his bow tie as Mate gives him a round of applause. “Thank you, thank you!” He bows a couple of times as if he had completed a difficult magic trick.

He then stops and looks back at his friend. “Oooh, you wanna know what happened at school the other day?” At hearing this Mate shuts his clapping and nods his head.

“Okay then!” he began. “Well if you can recall, last time I went to school I was forced to sit next to Violet, ugh” He blows a raspberry in the air and his robot scoots away, avoiding the mess that came out of him.

“Anywho, the teacher told us that we had to complete this Christmas worksheet packet in order to be done for the day. But she also said that if you finished that early, then you can color a Christmas drawing and eat ice cream!” 

Mate watched as the boy's eyes sparkled with excitement. He clasps his claws together in joy at seeing his friend so happy.

“So I tried to finish the worksheet early so that I could get the first scoop of ice cream," he continued. "I finished the spelling sheet, the math sheet, and the cut and paste sheet. I was almost done, and all I had left was the crossword sheet. I finished that one super fast, and so I went up to my teacher to check my work. But turns out that I got one word wrong from the crossword!”

“I told her that she must be wrong, but she said that if I wanted ice cream then I was going to have to figure out what was the last word. I spent the entire day trying to figure out what the word was but I couldn’t solve it! It didn’t help that the description for the word said ‘A popular Christmas jingle’. There are many Christmas songs out there, which one could be the word?!” He slams his fist on the ground, causing some of the metal scraps to fall to the floor. 

“It’s just super unfair you know?” He pouted. “I clearly deserved my ice cream, but nooo I now need to know all the St. Nick songs in the world!” He folds his arms against his chest and looks towards the window, hoping that the snow can somehow make it better.

Mate, seeing that Tobey was upset about this, gets up and walks over to him. He places his claw on top of his shoe and offers a small pat.

Tobey looks back down at his feet and a small smile tugs his face. Even though his robot doesn’t say anything, he sure has a way to comfort him without words. It’s no wonder he’s such a great friend. People probably wish they had a friend like him around, one that is always willing to listen. 

Just then a _click-clack_ sound can be heard behind him. Tobey looks up as a tall blonde woman comes out of the hallway, looking rather angry. 

“Theodore McCallister III, just what do you think you’re doing?”

 _Uh oh,_ he thought. What did he do wrong this time? Well, besides the lake thing and the worksheet thing. He had already gotten a scolding about those two earlier, so he can’t imagine it being that. 

Unsure what to do, the young genius decided to play the oblivious card.

“Look Mommy!” he announced. “I fixed Mate’s arm all by myself! Aren’t you proud of me?”

His mother’s face softens as she looks at his robot. Sure enough, Mate was fine as he started dancing circles around Tobey until he noticed her stare. He then stops and gives a friendly wave to her. 

The woman sighs and gives a light giggle. “Oh, you did? I’m so proud of you indeed, my little genius! Did it take too long?”

“Nope! All it took was me and my tiny screwdriver!” He snatched his screwdriver that he left and held it up in the air like a sword, it’s rusty tip shining somehow. 

She smiles at her son’s new accomplishment, glad that she didn’t have to pay for more replacement parts. She then walks up to him, who was now sword fighting with an imaginary knight. Bending down so that she can reach him, she pinches his cheeks. “Oh, that is wonderful my dear! I see you are putting your father’s tools to good use”.

“Moooom,” Tobey whined, “I’m five years old, which means I am clearly not some baby to be doted on!”

She stares back at her son, taken aback by his words. Recalling how she was talking to a young prodigy, she smiles even more and picks up her son. “Yes my dear, but no matter how old you are you will always be my sweet little boy” She pecked his cheek and placed him down on the carpet.

Tobey wipes the cheek that his mother kissed.

Honestly, he didn’t understand what was the need to show such affection to him. But he had to admit the attention that he receives from her is quite delightful. 

He pulls out his screwdriver again and proceeds to stab at the air as if he was in a battle.

“But now that your friend is fixed,” his mother chided, “it’s about time that you got ready for dinner, don’t you think?”

Tobey pauses his sword fighting for a moment. Drat. He had forgotten that mother had chosen an outfit for him. The other day the two went shopping together and he had promised that if he dressed up for Christmas dinner, then they would go to the local hardware store to pick up some spare parts. He was so eager to fix his friend that he had completely forgotten about their so-called arrangement.

“Oh, don’t worry about that Mommy!” he lied. “I haven’t forgotten about the grand dinner that we’re gonna have with father or anything of the sort…”

“Oh good! I would hate it if your father came back and saw that his family didn’t even bother to dress up for his arrival”

She grabbed the robot that was sitting at the window and placed it in her son’s hands. “Now run along and go put on the outfit that I bought for you. I’m sure that your father would love it!”

He groaned at the thought of wearing something elegant and sulked over towards his bedroom. “Fine, mother. Come along Mate, we must get ready for tonight”

At the mention of his name the robot dashes over to his creator’s side, an extra skip in each step. 

OoOoOoOoOo

Tobey looks back at his mirror, infuriated that he somehow let this happen to himself. 

He wore a green long-sleeved plaid shirt, with strips of black and red crossing over. A trail of white buttons ran down the middle, in which he had chosen to leave the very top one unbuttoned. A tiny pocket on the top right of his shirt hid the tiny screwdriver that he refused to part with. Over it, he sported a pair of red leather suspenders with a golden button in the center. 

He looked over at the shopping bag sitting next to him and grabbed it. Placing his arm in, he scoured around to see if he had forgotten anything. He felt a tiny ziplock bag inside and pulled it out. It contained a dashing velvet bow tie with golden laces at the ends of it. He squinted his eyes as he saw that a slightly smaller bow was also in the bag. 

He grinned to himself. He was glad that his mother hadn’t forgotten about Mate, even though he had practically dunked him into the frozen lake. It was nice to know that his friend was included in the family. Why it was almost like having a brother of his own! Well, a brother that constantly needed his power pack replaced.

He rips the bag open and draws out the larger bow tie. He unraveled it and wrapped it around the collar of his neck, murmuring to himself as he tied it back. 

“Fold it here, wrap it around...fold it twice and pull it through...and done!”

He stared back at himself in the mirror, proud that he had mastered the art of bow since he was a wee little boy (well, he's still little but of course he won't admit to that). The bow was now tied in a butterfly style, which just so happens to be his second favorite way of tying bow ties. 

After admiring his handiwork, he called for his robot. “Mate! Come over, mother bought something for you as well!”

Mate, who was busy playing with a pile of wires, looked back at him. Delighted that he gets to wear something, he drops the wires in his hand and runs back over to Tobey. 

“Hmm, wait a minute” the boy remarks. “You’re not wearing a collared shirt like me. How are we gonna put the bow on you?”

The robot placed his claw on his chin, puzzled. He plops down on the ground and taps his chin.

“Oh, I got it!” Tobey exclaimed. “Mate, pass me a piece of wire over there” He pointed to the pile of wires that he was playing with earlier. 

Mate, upon hearing the boy’s command, jumps up and walks over to the pile. He plucked a red wire that lied at the top and ran back to Tobey. He held up his hand and showed him the wire he picked out. 

Tobey grabs the wire and holds up the tiny bow. He readjusts his glasses as he notes a small gap within the bow. He carefully threads the wire through the gap, making sure that he doesn’t pull it in the wrong direction.

Once the wire has been placed, he gets on the floor and gestures for Mate to come over. The tiny bot steps up to him and waits patiently. Tobey then wraps the wire around Mate’s neck and twists the ends together so that it doesn’t unravel. 

“There you go! Now we both look pretty spiffy huh?”

Mate looks at the mirror and stares at his new adornment. He tugs at the bow tie as he continues to marvel at himself. 

Tobey pats his head, glad that at least someone is excited about dinner. He, on the other hand, could care less. Sure, he can’t wait to eat the delicious pastries that Mother made, but he can’t exactly say much for the special guest. 

He let out a small groan as he thought about the man. It wasn’t so much the fact that he dreaded seeing him, but more like he doesn’t have high hopes for their meeting. Father hasn’t been around for a while, and while he did appear a couple of times, he has grown to expect less and less of him.

There was one day though that stood out for him clear as day; his 4th birthday.

That entire day he had grown hopeful of getting to see father again after a whole month, but alas as the hours passed he didn’t even show his face or give a call. Distraught, Tobey ran off to his father’s workshop and grabbed one of the screwdrivers that laid on his desk. It was a rusty multi screwdriver and, upon further inspection, some of the bits were missing. But it was a perfect gift for himself.

 _If he couldn’t be there for me,_ he thought, _then I might as well put this darn thing to good use._

And of good use it was. He practically used it for all of his projects and “reparations” that he did (well, what he could “repair” when Mother wasn’t around). It was especially helpful for building his first robot Mate, which has so far been his most successful build.

And he felt no remorse whatsoever for “gifting” himself. When his mother found out what he did, she demanded that he return it to his father’s workshop where it belonged. He cried to his mother that there was no use in leaving it there if no one bothered to go into his shop. Ever since then, he was granted permission to go into his father’s shop whenever he pleased.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the very same woman call for him. “Tobey! Dinner is almost ready!”

He sighed to himself. Welp, hopefully they won’t have to wait too long for father to arrive. Perhaps the old man may even show up earlier than usual. But regardless of what would happen tonight, all that he knew was that he could count on the Yule log that mother prepared earlier today.

He marched over towards his bedroom door and creaked the door open. “Coming, mother!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes the first chapter! Sorry about it being so short, I promise that the next one's gonna be longer. I don't have a concrete idea of how many chapters this fanfic will have, but I think it'll be around 3-5, no more than 5.
> 
> Anywho, if you like the story so far then please let me know! And if you do notice something like a typo or a mistake then try messaging me on Tumblr! My username is karikremes.
> 
> (Wait, can you even edit AO3 works? Gaaah hopefully, I'm still new to this a heh heh!)
> 
> Thanks for reading this lil chapter, and we shall meet again when I post the next one. Ta-ta for now! <3


	2. Expecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, second chapter here we go! I honestly didn't expect this one to be *this* long; I think that was me getting a bit carried away with it (oops!). Anywho, enjoy fellow readers!

Curse his short stature.

He had forgotten that he was only three feet tall, so his feet naturally dangled from the chair. Since he hated being reminded about it, he had ordered Mate to bring some books that were lying around in his bedroom. He came back a few minutes later with a couple of dictionaries and a thesaurus. 

Now Tobey stood at the other end of the table, sitting atop a huge pile of books. He had grown bored and was now playing with his food, shoving his roasted potatoes around the plate. Mate sat next to him, his legs crossed as he watched Tobey roll his food in circles.

“Tobey,” his mother chided at the other end of the table, “please stop playing with your food”

The boy tried to ignore his mother for a bit and instead stared at the dinner table. He noted how Mother had certainly gone all out with this one, for the table was now filled end to end with plates of delicious foods. His eyes glazed over the potato salad, baked ham, candied yam, roasted beef, and bacon-wrapped sausages that were laid in front of him. And dessert had yet to arrive!

His stomach grumbled at the thought of eating all those mouthwatering dishes. Disappointed, he looked back at his plate that only had Brussels sprouts and the cruddy roasted potatoes. 

He flicked a potato away from his plate and glared back at her. “And why bother? It’s half-past eight o'clock and the ‘special guest’ still hasn’t shown their face”

His mother gasped at him. “Tobey! You know that your father is extremely busy with his job, so it’s natural for him to be a little bit late”

“Well then _sorry_ for being honest” he grumbled out loud. “I don’t know why I thought he was gonna come this year. He didn’t even show up to my last birthday…”

Odd. Why did he mention that out loud? While the memory was sure as day seared into his brain, he never mentioned this to anyone. Well, besides Mate.

His mother spoke up again. “And you know that it’s because of his job sweetheart. It’s especially being demanding for him with the holidays”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. Must she always say that every time? It’s not like he hasn’t heard that a million times already. “Mother, can you _please_ stop defending him for once? The old man hasn’t bothered to even visit us or send us a letter, while you keep sending ours every month”

He bit his tongue as he let those last words slip. Why in the world did he bring that up? 

“Son, he probably just never got around to responding because his work gave him so much to d—“

“Mommy, can we please just eat already!?” the boy demanded. He slammed his fist on the table, causing his fork to fall off. He was infuriated that they were having this conversation _now_ out of all times. 

Offended at the display of defiance from him, his mother shoved her plate away and got up from her seat. “Young man, either you behave or you’re not getting any desserts!”

His face softened at the thought of not getting a slice of the precious Yule log. He whined at her, “Wha-no that’s super unfair!”

“Well, you've left me no choice. And your father _will_ arrive today because he asked his boss for permission to leave for Christmas. He managed to convince him after showing how much effort he put into the company this year”

Tobey folded his arms at his mother. Well if she was going to play tough, so will he. “Oh really? Can you give me your word on that then, dear Mother?”

She scrunched up her face after hearing her stubborn son speak. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. She tried again to conquer up some words, any words at all would do. But after a few failed attempts she slunk back into her seat, defeated.

“Aha, I knew it!” he snarked. “Even _you_ are afraid that father won’t keep up with his end!”

He smirked back at his mother, who was now looking down at her feet. She clenched her hands together as she kept her thoughts to herself. Then, as if making a last attempt to rescue the situation, she looked back up towards her son and pleaded, “Tobey, are you even looking forward to this dinner at all?”

His eyes widened as he took in those seemingly simple words. He certainly knew that what her mother was implying was not the fact that he wanted this dinner to end, but rather _who_ was coming to said dinner. _Was_ he looking forward to seeing his father? Sure, he still felt salty after that birthday, but did he truly not want to see him ever again?

He leaned back into the chair (well as close as he could without falling off) as he reminisced a certain tainted memory. If he recalled correctly, the last time he saw him was when the two of them had worked together to repair the lighting in the house. He remembers it so well because it had been quite some time since he saw him, and he counted the days until that weekend came. After finishing all the work around the house, he asked his father when they would get to work together again. The man suggested that they could work on a new project of Tobey’s choosing, just the two of them. Ecstatic, he believed those words as they came out of his mouth, and for the entire week he gathered everything that could be needed for the weekend. 

Of course, he should’ve expected that such things in life were too good to be true, for his father called the following Friday and told him that he was instead going to stay over at a coworker’s house in Freeport for a few months. Surprised at his disappointment that his father couldn’t keep up with yet another promise, he hung up on him and set off on creating a new project on his own.

That project would be Mate. 

He looked down at his buddy, who was now trying to reach his feet while sitting down. The robot gave a few tries until he eventually gave up and started tapping the tips of his claws together, still waiting for the special guest.

The young genius couldn’t help but feel the corners of his mouth turn up as he saw his buddy enjoying himself. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how Mate turned out to be this way. When he first programmed Mate, he found out that by not making any changes to the original code, his robot developed a personality of its own. Despite the young boy’s grumpy attitude, Mate ended up becoming a kind-hearted friend that would always stick by his side no matter what. 

He takes a deep breath and looks back towards his mother, who was now facing him with a straight face. He delivers his answer to her, “Well umm mother I…”. He hesitated for a moment, trying to be careful with his words seeing how delicate the current topic was. “I mean well...while I am still distraught over our last meet up I… guess a part of me still wished to see father for a bit…” he finally confessed. 

Her face lit up for a brief moment but was soon overtaken by relief. “Oh Tobey, I know that you’re still upset about him not always being there for us. But I think you should very well know that he still does love us with all his heart”

He gave a quick scoff after hearing the first bit. “Of course I’m still upset Mommy!”

He paused again as he looked away towards Mate. As if on cue, his friend gave him a thumbs up to show his everlasting support. 

“I just...I guess I was willing to give him another chance is all”

He twiddled with his thumbs as he waited for his mother’s answer. This dinner was starting to be a bit uncomfortable for him. Not even the Yule log was convincing enough for him to stay anymore. 

“Aww,” he heard his mother coo. “It’s wonderful that you’re willing to give him another chance. And you know what, since you’re being so sincere with me—“

“We can commence dinner now?” he eagerly barked. 

“No. But I will let you go to your room and wait there until your father gets here”

 _Huh,_ he noted. _Does she still have high hopes even after that ‘pleasant’ conversation?_

He shoved the thought away for a moment as he grinned at her mother. “Really? Why thank you mother!” He was happy that he could get away from this seemingly unbearable dinner. 

He triumphantly stood up from his pile of books and gestured to Mate. “Come along my friend! We shall commence a new adventure in the comforts of our bedroom!”

Mate gave a quick salute as he jumped down to the chair he was sitting on. He grabbed the book at the bottom as he carefully lifted Tobey off the chair and settled the stack onto the ground. It wobbled for a brief moment and the boy almost lost his balance, but fortunately he quickly regained it back.

Tobey leaped off his book throne and scurried away to the hallway. Mate kept up with his pace, not losing a step in his stride. 

The pair arrived at the end of the hallway where his bedroom was. However, Tobey was already overwhelming himself as he immediately started thinking about all the fun that the two would have together. Perhaps they could finally finish their pillow fort that the two started the other day. Or maybe they could rummage underneath his bed to find some old parts that Mate accidently lost down there. No doubt that they were going to have a lot of free time on their hands (at least while they waited for his father to arrive). Why, with so much time it was going to be impossible to choose just one! 

Feeling a bit hesitant, he decided to consult his friend on his opinion. 

“Hey Mate, what should our next adventure be about?” the young genius asked him as he reached for the door handle. He had just placed his hand on the handle when he heard a faint sound of crunching snow outside of the house.

Tobey immediately let go of the handle and perked up his ear to see if he could make out anything. After a moment of silence, he was greeted with the now much louder sound of rapping on the door. Yep, there was no questioning it this time. 

He quietly gasped to himself in both surprise and awe. While normally he would’ve just ignored such noises and run into his room since mother typically didn’t want him around when a stranger came towards their house, he had a feeling he knew exactly who it was.

But could it really be him? It’s been quite a long time and while he was a little bit excited to see him, a new feeling arose in his stomach. It felt like multiple butterflies were flying around, the beating wings making him feel uneasy. It certainly wasn’t the first time he met with these imaginary butterflies however. He’s felt it many times before in fact, such as when he and Mate pulled off a prank on some of the students and the teacher would catch them in the act. 

Yes indeed, it was fear. He was afraid of meeting his father again.

He slid down the side of the hallway and grabbed his stomach. Rubbing his arms up and down, he tried to reason out this sense of nervousness that overcame him. Slow, shaky breaths came out as he attempted to calm himself down. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t clear the many buzzing thoughts from his head. 

Seeing how he wasn’t getting anywhere, he conjured up a new plan of action. 

Leaning a bit so that he could reach his friend, he placed a finger over his lips and ushered Mate to the hallway entrance. Once he got the message, he then rose and tiptoed towards the edge of the hallway. He made sure that each step of his wouldn’t cause a creaky sound and bring attention to him. Mate follows close by, and once he was at his side the two peek their heads out from the corner.

His eyes moved across the room as he saw his mother finally rush towards the door. She promptly stops for a moment and attempts to fix her hair, despite the lack of loose strands flying around her. After a quick glow-up, she opened the door as she greeted a menacingly tall man at the door. 

_Yep, that’s him alright,_ he assured himself. His father’s stature was one of the many defining features that Tobey uses to identify him. 

He watched as the man stepped into the household. He had blonde hair just like him, however he didn’t need a pair of glasses. He wore a black and orange plaid shirt with a thick black jacket over it. Below it, he donned a messy pair of denim pants, as one could tell by the smudges of oil all over it. 

The boy watched as the man chuckled at a comment his mother made and gave her a quick peck. She then proceeded to give him a cheerful laugh, but about what was beyond him.

It certainly was odd seeing how nonchalant his mother was acting, especially since she hadn’t seen him in quite some time. She was acting as if he was gone for merely a day when they both knew very well that time doesn’t work like that. 

“Oh, Mr. McCallister!” an overwhelmingly cheerful yet familiar voice cut through the air. 

“Yes, good sir?” Tobey chirped back. He then proceeded to smack his forehead as he realized that their cover had been blown. 

_Why oh why did I say that? It was a dumb thing of ours that we used to do back in the day,_ ** _how_** _does he still remember that?_

His chest tightened at the thought of talking with his father. He just wasn’t ready yet, and he sure didn’t want to be forced to hold a conversation with him either. That was simply asking for disaster.

He should've stayed in his room when he had his chance. If he was ever going to talk to him, it would be on his own terms. There was no forcing anything out of him, and if that means locking himself in his room and having Mate be a bodyguard again then so be it. 

He looked down at Mate and pulled him close so that he could whisper to him. “Dumb me, I ruined it! Well no worries, for I have a new plan Mate! We’ll sneak into my room and you’ll be my temporary bodyguard again. And if anyone asks, I’m in the middle of an ultra-important project. Sound good?”

The robot ignored him as he peeked back towards the living room, then pointed at the tall man. 

“Yes, that’s my father I know, but I don’t wanna speak with him”

Mate placed his arms on his hips as he glared back up towards him. 

He scoffed at the new authoritative attitude his bot had gained. “Don’t you dare give me attitude! Look, we’re eventually going to talk to him but not now, okay?”

“Dear, if you’re going to play spies again," his mother advised suddenly, "then next time make sure you aren’t a mere six feet away from us”

Tobey poked out of his hiding spot to see both his parents staring in his direction, his mother with her hands on her hips as well.

“Oh crackers and jam,” he grumbled. “This isn’t going to end well for me”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And voila, another chapter done! I'm not 100% confident with how I paced it for this one, but I have no idea if that's just me being too nitpicky or not. Now fair warning: the next one may or may not be the definitive final chapter (I'm still thinking about it a heh eh). However, I do have an epilogue planned out for it, I'm mainly just debating on if it'll be too umm rough (to put it in simple words). I mean, I did say it was going to be angsty and I feel like it just needs a tad bit more ya know. 
> 
> Anywho, thank you so much for reading, and we shall meet again in the next chapter. Ta-ta! <3


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